The Compton Profile of MgO

Abstract

The Compton profile of polycrystalline MgO has been measured with MoKα X-rays scattered through 121°. The results obtained were compared with the profiles based on a superposition of Mg²⁺ and O²⁻ ions. For Mg²⁺, Hartree-Fock free-ion wave functions were used, and the outer electrons in O²⁻ were described by four sets of theoretical wave functions. The experimental results were in good agreement with the profile calculated from crystalline-field wave functions of O²⁻, whereas the models of fictitiously stabilized O²⁻ ions proved to contain too much low momentum.